2018 Draft Thread Lucky #7

[Benedict Miller]

Bamba is a big body who lacks a lot of athletic ability.

Not true at all.

Yes it is. You can't seriously tell me that guy is an above average athlete by modern NBA center standards.

Subpar explosiveness, quickness and strength. Everything he does is reliant on his length. He isn't any more athletic than Asik.

Mind you, that length is spectacular. It's why he's probably guaranteed to be at least a decent defender in this league. But a truly great one? Ehhhhh…

Why can't he be a Mutombo?

[DanTown8587]

Watch on YouTube

Carbon Copy of Omer defensively.

if you think players with Bamba's length also have his agility, I simply don't know what to tell you. Guys who are that long armed typically are awkward runners or move like a boat but not Bamba.

I simply don't know how many bigs would play "bigger" than Bamba at this level. Gobert maybe? How many guys with his size can put up their arms, move quickly, and deter shots. I mean, Rudy Gobert is all length too. He's not some leaper nor is he some crazy quick footed guy. Bamba is obviously smaller than Gobert is but he's also earlier in the process so tough to really hold that against him. And that's not to say that Bamba will be Gobert but the idea that you have to be some exceptional athlete to be a good defensive C is poppycock. It's far more about instincts than about athletic ability, see KAT or DeMarcus Cousins.

[thewraith]

When I see what Gobert's presence means to the Utah Jazz, it's hard for me to argue against the idea of bringing Bamba over. He is the closest thing to Rudy Gobert we will find in years to come. He could be a generational player. We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, so I am really down with that.

Yeah his presence means sooo much that they are always like a bottom seed in the west. What a real difference maker. If that's the going rate for generational difference makers I'll pass.

[bigworld2017]

Bamba's I.Q. on offense is awful, needs work on his ball skills and being more confident with the ball. Add a ton of muscle to his lower body to have better balance. He has potential to be an all star.

Living down here in Austin I had the chance to see him live a few times. He is not a bad athlete at all. He may look uncoordinated because of his unusually long limbs. But he can cover ground with his long legs. His leaping ability is average. Proper strength training will help with that. But with his standing reach he only needs to get a few few off the ground to be able to grab just about every rebound that comes anywhere near him. He was seldom in foul trouble most of the season. While he's never going to be a high scoring big man, he will dunk any ball he grabs near the basket. And his "jumper" shows pretty good form. A few years under Hoiberg and he could easily shoot 30-35% from distance, which is enough that he would have to be defended away from the paint. We have Lauri. We don't need a stretch "5". We need a rebounder and rim protector that can give you 10 points a game on put backs but that doesn't demand the ball.

Bamba has the capacity to be "coached up". Whether he has the inner drive is the question I have. Jimmy Butler had skills coming out of Marquette. But it was his incredible drive to improve that made him great. If he has the heart and desire to get stronger, work on post moves like a jump hook and passing out of double teams he has the length and enough athleticism to be great. It will come down to how much he wants "it". If he's there when we pick he has to be considered. I'm not "sold" on him because I don't know who is going to be left on the board when we pick. But I'd take him over undersized point guards all day long. His shot blocking and shot altering skills are already elite. And he has the capacity to improve in many other areas.

[ATRAIN53]

I thought this was a decent read on Bamba a few weeks ago-

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/22/16917558/texas-mohamed-bamba-2018-nba-draft

One scout noted how well Bamba tends to respond to challenges, citing a December game in which Tennessee State’s beefy big man Christian Mekowulu looked like Shaq at times against Bamba before the Texas center ratcheted up his defensive intensity in the second half, leading to a Longhorns win. A few weeks later, against Iowa State, freshman big man Cameron Lard also outplayed Bamba to start the game; but Bamba again turned up his aggression to 11 at the end of regulation and in overtime. Ideally, Bamba would bring intensity all game. But there’s something to be said for a player who rises during an adverse situation.

He posted 13/12 in that OT loss in his only NCAA tourney game and fouled out late. did not rise in that game IMO.

regardless, dude is huge, I'd be estatic if he dropped to us. could he be developed into a a greek freak type?
I think Bagley is a more polished product with some post game.

so if Bagley and Bamba are both on the board when we pick......

[Benedict Miller]

Bamba's I.Q. on offense is awful, needs work on his ball skills and being more confident with the ball. Add a ton of muscle to his lower body to have better balance. He has potential to be an all star.

Living down here in Austin I had the chance to see him live a few times. He is not a bad athlete at all. He may look uncoordinated because of his unusually long limbs. But he can cover ground with his long legs. His leaping ability is average. Proper strength training will help with that. But with his standing reach he only needs to get a few few off the ground to be able to grab just about every rebound that comes anywhere near him. He was seldom in foul trouble most of the season. While he's never going to be a high scoring big man, he will dunk any ball he grabs near the basket. And his "jumper" shows pretty good form. A few years under Hoiberg and he could easily shoot 30-35% from distance, which is enough that he would have to be defended away from the paint. We have Lauri. We don't need a stretch "5". We need a rebounder and rim protector that can give you 10 points a game on put backs but that doesn't demand the ball.

Bamba has the capacity to be "coached up". Whether he has the inner drive is the question I have. Jimmy Butler had skills coming out of Marquette. But it was his incredible drive to improve that made him great. If he has the heart and desire to get stronger, work on post moves like a jump hook and passing out of double teams he has the length and enough athleticism to be great. It will come down to how much he wants "it". If he's there when we pick he has to be considered. I'm not "sold" on him because I don't know who is going to be left on the board when we pick. But I'd take him over undersized point guards all day long. His shot blocking and shot altering skills are already elite. And he has the capacity to improve in many other areas.

I agree. Also, I never said he wasn't a good athlete, just questioned his I.Q. with the basketball. As in responding quickly when or not to shoot, where to be, when or not to pass. Not the best decision maker on the court.

[Dresden]

When I see what Gobert's presence means to the Utah Jazz, it's hard for me to argue against the idea of bringing Bamba over. He is the closest thing to Rudy Gobert we will find in years to come. He could be a generational player. We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, so I am really down with that.

The measurable are similar, but there are big differences in Goberts game compared to Bamba. Gobert has a solid 25-30 pounds on Bamba, he has a better feel for the inside game, he uses his body to shield players out creating lanes for other players and he moves in and out of the post creating easy scoring opportunities. Not many people are going to physically move Gobert out of the way, Bamba will struggle to stand his ground if he ends up not adding more muscle and weight to his frame.

I think that's the trap with Bamba. They see this incredible potential due to the length. But he will have to do a lot of things to achieve that potential, and as history shows, a lot of players fail to do so. gobert is like a rock in the paint, Bamba is more like wet noodle right now. Gobert is also a pretty smart player, and Bamba will have to improve his BBIQ significantly to get to that level. Right now he's a very poor passer.

[Mech Engineer]

Watching the Wolves struggle on defense even with a good athletic Center(Towns) and a good defensive PF in Taj makes you wonder how good small ball can be when you build/draft a player. Taj is a pretty good defender eve n now in P & R and Towns obviously struggles.

The point I am trying to make is a big Center who can defend well is very important even if your PF is a good defender(assuming Lauri develops into one). I don't think Lauri will ever be the defender Taj has been. And, before we talk of offense with the big guys, KAT and Taj are pretty decent on offense.

The Bulls need to draft a big, versatile defensive rim protecting anchor at the Center position and not assume they can play small ball to have deficiencies at that position.

[Dresden]

The way most teams attack a big center these days is to go small, forcing a guy like Bamba to play out on the perimeter v. a stretch 4 playing the 5.

[Red Larrivee]

The way most teams attack a big center these days is to go small, forcing a guy like Bamba to play out on the perimeter v. a stretch 4 playing the 5.

How many teams can do this well enough for it to matter?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[bearadonisdna]

I thought this was a decent read on Bamba a few weeks ago-

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/22/16917558/texas-mohamed-bamba-2018-nba-draft

One scout noted how well Bamba tends to respond to challenges, citing a December game in which Tennessee State’s beefy big man Christian Mekowulu looked like Shaq at times against Bamba before the Texas center ratcheted up his defensive intensity in the second half, leading to a Longhorns win. A few weeks later, against Iowa State, freshman big man Cameron Lard also outplayed Bamba to start the game; but Bamba again turned up his aggression to 11 at the end of regulation and in overtime. Ideally, Bamba would bring intensity all game. But there’s something to be said for a player who rises during an adverse situation.

He posted 13/12 in that OT loss in his only NCAA tourney game and fouled out late. did not rise in that game IMO.

regardless, dude is huge, I'd be estatic if he dropped to us. could he be developed into a a greek freak type?
I think Bagley is a more polished product with some post game.

so if Bagley and Bamba are both on the board when we pick......

Both of these guys have high ceilings but bagley is considerably closer to his.

[WindyCityBorn]

When I see what Gobert's presence means to the Utah Jazz, it's hard for me to argue against the idea of bringing Bamba over. He is the closest thing to Rudy Gobert we will find in years to come. He could be a generational player. We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, so I am really down with that.

Yeah his presence means sooo much that they are always like a bottom seed in the west. What a real difference maker. If that's the going rate for generational difference makers I'll pass.

Exactly. Players like Gobert will never win anything as the best player on a team. Probably not even second best player. Deandre Jordan certainly didn't take the Clippers any where despite having Paul and Griffin. Defense only guys are extremely overrated. They are complimentary players only. Whiteside in Miami is another example. Noah was another.

Players that don't score are not players that should be considered franchise talents.

Bamba and JJJ are massive bust risks. More so than Young.

[WindyCityBorn]

I thought this was a decent read on Bamba a few weeks ago-

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/22/16917558/texas-mohamed-bamba-2018-nba-draft

One scout noted how well Bamba tends to respond to challenges, citing a December game in which Tennessee State’s beefy big man Christian Mekowulu looked like Shaq at times against Bamba before the Texas center ratcheted up his defensive intensity in the second half, leading to a Longhorns win. A few weeks later, against Iowa State, freshman big man Cameron Lard also outplayed Bamba to start the game; but Bamba again turned up his aggression to 11 at the end of regulation and in overtime. Ideally, Bamba would bring intensity all game. But there’s something to be said for a player who rises during an adverse situation.

He posted 13/12 in that OT loss in his only NCAA tourney game and fouled out late. did not rise in that game IMO.

regardless, dude is huge, I'd be estatic if he dropped to us. could he be developed into a a greek freak type?
I think Bagley is a more polished product with some post game.

so if Bagley and Bamba are both on the board when we pick......

If we pick Bamba over Bagley heads should roll. I don't care if we already have Markkanen at PF.

[bearadonisdna]

So after doing my bracket online which accidentally didnt get saved i had Duke vs UVA in the title game.

Duke is still in it and im wondering if having two legit future nba players/high draft picks is enough to romp stomp seemingly other ‘amateurish’ competition?
In a way i think it should be because i saw a thread on the GB asking if a Top 5 nba could lead a 16 seed to a title. Someone mentioned Anthony Davis and that kinda formed my opinion. There are opposite opinions that are convincing as well.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1686674


Its my misfortune to say that a Bagley/Carter tandem might beat out Rolo/Lauri straight up so im wondering if it should make them the clear favorites or not?
Also i know this is the draft thread but i wonder if a Tourney thread is more suitable?

[MrSparkle]

Ran the RealGM draft sim today - here was the draw (surprise surprise):

1. Grizzlies
2. Suns
3. Magic

The bad news: afterwards, I clicked the button about 15x and the Bulls came up once in the top-3 (#2), after about 12 tries. We got low odds, folks. Very important to lose every game here on out.

Going on the first draw though... which is very likely given how hard those 3 teams tanked this year... I imagine MEM is very hot for Bagley (a Z-Bo successor), PHX really wants Ayton to stay in Arizona, and ORL needs Doncic (a playmaker) with a Disney kid marketability. I could see MEM and PHX working out a swap, where PHX gives up a little (TJ Warren and Dudley for example for a bad contract, like Parsons) to move up for Ayton. MEM would be right back in the playoff mix with a new franchise player to take the torch (gracefully) from Gasol, PHX would have it's 1-2-3 punch to build around (Booker-Ayton-Jackson).

My 2c, but nobody is taking Jackson or Porter in the top-3.

[logical_art]

When I see what Gobert's presence means to the Utah Jazz, it's hard for me to argue against the idea of bringing Bamba over. He is the closest thing to Rudy Gobert we will find in years to come. He could be a generational player. We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, so I am really down with that.

Yeah his presence means sooo much that they are always like a bottom seed in the west. What a real difference maker. If that's the going rate for generational difference makers I'll pass.

Exactly. Players like Gobert will never win anything as the best player on a team. Probably not even second best player. Deandre Jordan certainly didn't take the Clippers any where despite having Paul and Griffin. Defense only guys are extremely overrated. They are complimentary players only. Whiteside in Miami is another example. Noah was another.

Players that don't score are not players that should be considered franchise talents.

Bamba and JJJ are massive bust risks. More so than Young.

I think JJJ has real offensive potential and so I rank him far above Bamba.

I agree about having a defensive center (Bamba). You only get a chance to pick this high rarely. Don't waste it on a guy who will never be a top 2-3 player on a championship team.

[Chi town]

Yeah his presence means sooo much that they are always like a bottom seed in the west. What a real difference maker. If that's the going rate for generational difference makers I'll pass.

Exactly. Players like Gobert will never win anything as the best player on a team. Probably not even second best player. Deandre Jordan certainly didn't take the Clippers any where despite having Paul and Griffin. Defense only guys are extremely overrated. They are complimentary players only. Whiteside in Miami is another example. Noah was another.

Players that don't score are not players that should be considered franchise talents.

Bamba and JJJ are massive bust risks. More so than Young.

I think JJJ has real offensive potential and so I rank him far above Bamba.

I agree about having a defensive center (Bamba). You only get a chance to pick this high rarely. Don't waste it on a guy who will never be a top 2-3 player on a championship team.

Agree on JJJ. He's Bamba defensively with much higher potential on offense with his 3 ball, handle, and FTs.

[Chi town]

Here's how I think the draft will pan out...
Ayton PHX
Luka MEM
MPJ/YoungORL
JJJ ATL
Bagley DAL
Bridges CHI
MPJ/Young SAC
Bamba CLE
Carter NYK

[sh0ck]

I hate the idea of drafting a big man in the modern NBA unless they have the upside of a Towns/KP/Embiid/AD.

If you're drafting Mo Bamba, you better think that he's going to develop into being that type of player. If not, then it's a huge waste of a tank year pick to get a player that most teams are able to draft with late-1st rounders.

So if your best case scenario with Bamba is Gobert/DJordan/Capela/Whiteside/Draymond Green...

Remember where these guys were drafted.
Gobert - 27th pick
Jordan - 35th pick
Capela - 25th pick
Whiteside - 33rd pick
Green - 35th pick

[Chi town]

Ran the RealGM draft sim today - here was the draw (surprise surprise):

1. Grizzlies
2. Suns
3. Magic

The bad news: afterwards, I clicked the button about 15x and the Bulls came up once in the top-3 (#2), after about 12 tries. We got low odds, folks. Very important to lose every game here on out.

Going on the first draw though... which is very likely given how hard those 3 teams tanked this year... I imagine MEM is very hot for Bagley (a Z-Bo successor), PHX really wants Ayton to stay in Arizona, and ORL needs Doncic (a playmaker) with a Disney kid marketability. I could see MEM and PHX working out a swap, where PHX gives up a little (TJ Warren and Dudley for example for a bad contract, like Parsons) to move up for Ayton. MEM would be right back in the playoff mix with a new franchise player to take the torch (gracefully) from Gasol, PHX would have it's 1-2-3 punch to build around (Booker-Ayton-Jackson).

My 2c, but nobody is taking Jackson or Porter in the top-3.

I'd think MEM would take Luka over anyone in this draft as would ATL. Suns take Ayton over anyone.